ye na thi hamari qismat ki visal-e-yar hota
agar aur jite rahte yahi intizar hota

that my love be consummated, fate did not ordain
living longer had i waited, would have been in vain

tere wade par jiye hum to ye jaan jhut jaana
ki khushi se mar na jate agar e'tibar hota

that your promise made me live, let that not deceive
happily my life i'd give, if i could but believe

teri nazuki se jaana ki bandha tha ahd boda
kabhi tu na tod sakta agar ustuwar hota

to your daintiness is tied, the frailty of your vow
you couldn't break it if you tried, if it was firm somehow

koi mere dil se puchhe tere tir-e-nim-kash ko
ye khalish kahan se hoti jo jigar ke par hota

what pain your arrow, partly drawn, inflicts upon my heart
cleanly through if it had gone, would it this sting impart?

ye kahan ki dosti hai ki bane hain dost naseh
koi chaarasaz hota koi gham-gusar hota

say what friendship is this pray? that friends seek to preach
instead of trying to allay my pain with soothing speech

rag-e-sang se tapakta wo lahu ki phir na thamta
jise gham samajh rahe ho ye agar sharar hota

blood would ooze from veins of stone, not stem nor ever tire
if what to us as grief is known, were but a spark of fire

gham agarche jaan-gusil hai pa kahan bachen ki dil hai
gham-e-ishq gar na hota gham-e-rozgar hota

if sorrow's fatal, then tell me, how can this heart endure?
if love's sorrow would not be, life's sorrow would, for sure

kahun kis se main ki kya hai shab-e-gham buri bala hai
mujhe kya bura tha marna agar ek bar hota

of gloomy nights alone and sad, to whom should i complain?
dying just once would not be bad, but each evening again?

hue mar ke hum jo ruswa hue kyun na gharq-e-dariya
na kabhi janaza uthta na kahin mazar hota

after death i was reviled, i would have rather drowned
no remnant to be defiled, no grave site to be found

use kaun dekh sakta ki yagana hai wo yakta
jo dui ki bu bhi hoti to kahin do-chaar hota

him how can anybody see, unique, no form, no face
were there a whiff of duality we'd see him at some place

ye masail-e-tasawwuf ye tera bayan 'ghaalib'
tujhe hum wali samajhte jo na baada-khwar hota

on mystic philosophy, gaalib, your words profound
a saint we'd surely think you be, if drunken you weren't found